Many formulated perfumes, body care products, home care products, perfumery raw materials (such as, for example, essential oils, natural extracts, and synthetic ingredients), and food raw materials (such as, for example, fats and oils derived from animal or plant sources, and derivatives thereof, including monoglycerides, diglycerides, lecithins, phosphatidyl ethanolamines, or other phospholipids, and modified triglycerides) can undergo oxidation, resulting in the formation of chemical species including peroxides, organic hydroperoxides, peroxyhemiacetals.
The peroxide value (POV), defined as the amount of equivalents of oxidizing potential per 1 kilogram of material is an indication of the extent of the oxidation. The POV of formulated perfumes, body care products, and perfumery raw materials is, or may be subject to regulatory limits, due to skin sensitization issues, such as, for example, contact dermatitis. For example, an unacceptably high POV can result in a perfumery raw material failing quality control testing, and therefore being deemed unusable. In another example, an unacceptably high POV can result in a food raw material having an unpleasant rancid taste.
Consequently, there is a need to reduce the incidence of formulated perfumes, body care products and perfumery raw materials failing quality control testing, or, causing skin irritation, by reducing the POV in the formulated perfumes, body care products, home care products, cosmetic products, and perfumery raw materials. In addition, there is a need to reduce the occurrence of a rancid taste in food raw materials, by reducing the POV in the food raw materials.